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Hiring

Best of the Worst: Applicants Learn New Ways to Self-Destruct

06/10/2008
Normal people try to put their best foot forward during job interviews. Others not so much. Like the applicant who showed up drunk. Or the guy who picked his nose. A new survey reveals some of the strangest, rudest behavior applicants display during job interviews.

Transparency is key to lawsuit-Proof promotions process

06/09/2008
If, like most organizations, you prefer to promote from within, here’s a good rule of thumb: Follow careful procedures in your selection process. That way, you can choose the best applicant for the job and also be able to easily justify your selection if a disgruntled and rejected applicant sues …

Court warns against bending the rules when hiring

06/09/2008
Don’t give in if managers ask HR to change the hiring criteria because they think they have already found the perfect candidate—who just happens to lack one of the job requirements. Courts often view such ad hoc changes as serious flaws in the hiring process …

Hillsborough pilot wins $36,000 age discrimination suit

06/09/2008
A crop-duster who accused Hillsborough County of refusing to hire him because of his age has won a jury verdict of $36,000 in back pay. John Van Voorhis claimed the hiring manager said he didn’t want “an old man pilot.” …

Wal-Mart to pay $12,000 to veteran it didn’t hire back

06/09/2008
When Sean Thornton, of Deltona, was discharged from the U.S. Air Force in 2006, he asked Wal-Mart if he could return to his former job as a cashier. The retail chain refused, and Thornton sued, alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act …

Convince employees to ‘Pay’ for part of their development

06/06/2008
Here’s an all-too-familiar scenario: Your organization invests considerable time and money training an employee with a lot of potential—and then the trainee takes that education to another company that offers a higher salary. Here are three ways to ease the financial blow to your organization—and lower the likelihood that the employee will leave …

When managers forecast the need for more staff, ask why

06/06/2008
When you plan your comp and benefits budget for next year—or for the year after that or the following year—how do you know how many employees your organization will need? If you’re like most organizations, you don’t know. But you should …

Can I hire a home-Schooled teenager who doesn’t have a work permit?

06/06/2008
Q. I am a small business owner. A 17-year-old who is not emancipated and has not graduated from high school recently approached me seeking full-time employment. She claims that, because she is home-schooled, she can work full-time year-round and does not have access to a work permit from her school. Can I legally hire this minor without the school certificate required by Ohio law? …

Interview questions: What not to ask

06/06/2008
Q. Are there specific questions that an employer is prohibited from asking during a job interview? …

Is it legal to deny me an interview just because I don’t meet the posted requirements?

06/06/2008
Q. I applied for a new position within my company—a promotion—for which my on-the-job experience clearly makes me the best candidate. However, the job posting states that the job requires a college degree and my employer will not even interview me for the job because he says I do not meet the minimum job requirements. Is this legal? …